Gypsum

 

 

 

 

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General

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The novel Gypsum was written over the course of six weeks during June and July of 2018, though the novel's conception occurred during the summer months of 2015 while Rellim was writing another novel, The Pact. 

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Originally, Rellim had two ideas for a haunted house novel, intending to write both, but when writing Gypsum decided to fuse elements from both into one. Although he wrote the final manuscript for the novel at a breakneck speed, initial drafts gave him considerable trouble. Rellim stated: "I began writing Gypsum on June 11, 2018 and wrote consistently every day.  I wrote around 200 pages before I convinced myself to stop and revise before adding any new chapters to the manuscript. It wasn't so much the writing itself, but more so about how the story unfolded. I saved the initial manuscript under a different filename and made changes. But then I still wasn't happy with the manuscript, so I saved the second draft under a new filename and made changes yet again. I did this three more times before deciding to start from scratch, though I weaved a large portion of what was in the previous drafts into the sixth/final manuscript. I had to get the sixth draft right; otherwise, I likely would not have finished the novel over the summer as I wanted, if at all."

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The manuscript was completed on July 16, 2018. Rellim spent the next two weeks revising the manuscript while starting to write his next novel The Child Snatcher. He sent the manuscript to Beacon Publishing Group on August 2, 2018. A week later he received notification his manuscript had been accepted for publication.

 

Synopsis (brief)

 

 

When Steven Dobrowski and his family move into their new home, strange things happen. At first, the hauntings perpetuated by the angry spirit are innocuous, but soon turn malicious and dangerous. Keisha—Steven’s wife—insists the family move for the sake of the family’s safety, but Steven’s obsession with the spirit overshadows his judgement, and he refuses to turn his back on the house he believes he and his family deserve. As events unfold, eventually Steven is taunted by an entity that persuades him to perform evil acts on the ones closest to him. Not only are the Dobrowskis affected by an entity of the spiritual world, but also by someone of the physical world who is furious Steven moved into the community with his African-American wife and three mixed-race children. The family is victimized with threats and vandalism. Who will win the fight between good and evil?

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Structure

 

In sum, the novel consists of thirty-one chapters, most with two scenes, though at least one chapter has three, and an epilogue. Each chapter is titled. Multiple plot strands are interwoven throughout the novel.